ON PRO BASKETBALL

ON PRO BASKETBALL; Knicks' Flaws Are Exposed in the End

By Mike Wise

Published: May 5, 2001

On one defining possession, they all hoisted 3-pointers, desperation jump shots that never had a chance. Allan Houston, Glen Rice and Latrell Sprewell -- the three players most entrusted to score and advance the Knicks in the post-Patrick era -- could not find the range with their season in the balance.

Madison Square Garden roared in the second half as it had not roared in a year. Down by 13 points, its team rumbled to life and the season was supposed to remarkably go on, no? Doesn't it always at this time of year?

It's over?

It's over.

The Knicks were done, out in one round, ready for Bermuda or the Bahamas or wherever players go to golf, sleep and wash away a deflating loss that ends their season.

How quickly this Knick season expired, the first week of May. Vince Carter's and the Toronto Raptors' stirring 93-89 victory in Game 5 last night made this the quickest Knicks exit since 1991, and now their legions have to suddenly rearrange their time shares in the Hamptons, and wonder what happened to their postseason warriors of the past.

They went down in flames, too, with Sprewell begging for someone to help him in a riveting fourth-quarter rally that fell short.

''I felt like I had to carry the load for the team,'' he said. ''I definitely needed some help. I was wearing down, chasing Vince around. And I needed that one guy to come in and take the burden off me, especially down the stretch.

''The thing that's the most disappointing is that they outworked us. I don't feel like everybody left it out on the floor.''

Houston responded by saying: ''If that's his perception, then I apologize to him on behalf of whoever didn't.''

You call your teammates out now, after the season is done? Everyone saw Sprewell carry the Knicks in the final 12 minutes. His honesty is one of his greatest traits. But one of the best things about this flawed group was its ability to bond through the worst of times, to never point fingers and let the outside world put a wedge between it.

In the most trying moments, the Knicks cracked. But then, anyone close to this team over the past season knew this night was coming.

How did it really end this way?

Midway through the third quarter, all the Knicks' liabilities were coming to bear; consider the trades in the off-season that brought another talented swingman but no bona fide big man to make up for the loss of Patrick Ewing.

Say what you want about Ewing being physically done and at least three years past his prime. He drew double-teams, he made people guard him in the low post. Sprewell and Houston admitted a few weeks ago: they were better players because of Ewing's presence.

They all wanted him gone, because it was going to free up the offense, turn them into the Kings of the East. This is not to say they should have held on to Ewing; but now they know the obvious -- they probably should have gotten someone bigger and stronger in return than merely Glen Rice and a couple of journeymen centers.

Larry Johnson's back gave out, Marcus Camby was not up to the task after a family trauma that robbed him of his focus. Kurt Thomas did what he could, but it was not enough.

Antonio Davis simply manhandled the Knicks' front line last night. With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, he put his shoulder down, drove the lane and rattled in a running, left-handed hook. As the teams moved toward the other end, Davis, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound rock, began mugging for the cameras.

Othella Harrington tried to seal him off to receive an entry pass seconds later. Now, Harrington goes 6-9, 235. But he was not strong enough. Davis merely shoved him aside and gathered another Knick turnover.

With 2 minutes 54 seconds left, he made a baseline fadeaway from Ewing's favorite spot. The Knicks gave up 11 offensive rebounds in Game 5. Though they outrebounded the Raptors, 39-35, over all, the important boards were gobbled up by Davis, Charles Oakley and Jerome Williams. When Williams -- another banger of considerable strength -- was in the game, the Raptors were 17 points better than the Knicks. For the series, Toronto outrebounded the Knicks on the offensive end, 61-39.

''I think that outworking them inside was going to be a battle that decided games one way or the other,'' said Davis, adding that Camby's family trauma added to the Knicks' demise.

''I really think Marcus Camby hurt them,'' he said. ''Nothing against Marcus Camby. I understand he was going through some really hard things. But it just happened at a bad time. He wasn't the guy that they needed him to be.

''I really just pray for the guy. It's tough to go through a situation like that, clear your head and try to do your job.''

Oh, Sprewell put on a magnificent show in the final quarter. He was flying downcourt, his braids trailing behind, taking the crowd on a surreal ride. Twelve points, including a driving layup with 2:28 left that brought the Knicks to 85-82.

But his running mate, Houston, was nowhere to be found. Houston, who has made so many big shots for the Knicks, may have played his last home game at the Garden, finishing with 16 meaningless points. Rice was even worse: 2 for 10 from the field, 5 points.

After he exercises an option clause in his contract, Houston will become a free agent, and who knows how desperate the Knicks will be to try to coax him into a sign-and-trade deal that would land them a power forward or center.

There were other subplots. You cannot dismiss that two former Knicks that, despite their flaws, played with the kind of serrated edge that used to get this franchise over the hump in rugged games. Oakley and Chris Childs were discarded in the name of change.

The player whom Childs was traded for, Mark Jackson, was not even in the game down the stretch. Jeff Van Gundy turned the reins over to Charlie Ward, who watched Childs hit big shot after big shot -- as if he were playing Game 7 against Miami last season.

But the most telling statement came from Houston, who was simply asked if his team was outworked by the Raptors.

''I think they did,'' he said. ''They really outworked us. Their strength was their rebounding and their size. They used that to their advantage. I think they overpowered us.